The Houston Chronicle editorial board expressed remorse over its endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz in the Senate race last year, saying he has failed to live up to their expectations.

“When we endorsed Ted Cruz in last November’s general election, we did so with many reservations and at least one specific recommendation - that he follow Hutchison’s example in his conduct as a senator. Obviously, he has not done so. Cruz has been part of the problem in specific situations where Hutchison would have been part of the solution,” the Texas paper board wrote in an editorial titled, “Why we miss Kay Bailey Hutchison”.

The Chronicle lamented the retirement of Cruz’s predecessor in the Senate, saying she may have made a difference in the government shutdown were she still in the Senate.

“We’re not sure how much difference one person could make in the toxic, chaotic, hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington, but if we could choose just one it would be Hutchison, whose years of service in the Senate were marked by two things sorely lacking in her successor, Ted Cruz,” the Chronicle wrote, citing her putting the best interests of Texas above all else and her willingness to work across the aisle. “We feel certain she would have worked shoulder to shoulder with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in crafting a workable solution that likely would have avoided the government shutdown altogether. But we’ll never know.”